Candles
by Yuumikan
Summary: Yuu had never been one to celebrate his birthday and never understood why it was so important. But with friends to push him along the right direction, he comes to learn that it is important, especially to the person who cares for him more than anyone else in the world.


Yuuichirou Hyakuya was never one to celebrate his birthday.

Ever since he was young, he had never properly celebrated his birthday.

It wasn't because he didn't _want_ to, but when you have parents who believe with every fiber of their being that you're a demon. . . well, birthdays quickly became a source of pain, torment, and general unpleasantness. Yuu had learned fairly quickly that on his birthday, it was best for him to forget all about it and keep out of his parents' way. It was the only way he survived them underneath their roof. Truth be told, it was the only thing he knew. Suddenly, all of that changed.

Like the moment the night time sky turns into those brilliant hues of tangerine, magenta, and gold, his world was altered. It took being taken away from his family and being placed into the Hyakuya Orphanage to fully experience the joy his birthday could bring. It took a while, naturally, for him to become used to the celebrating and the overall good cheer of the people around him. Happiness was a foreign concept to him, a dream that was too far to reach.

The first birthday away from his parents was the hardest on him.

He didn't know what to do with himself, didn't know whether or not he should hide away like he always did. He never mentioned the date, nor gave any hints as to what day it was.

As far as he was concerned, October 16th was just another day. And yet, on that very day, he woke up later than usual. When his small, tired body, raven locks in disarray and emerald colored eyes still hazed over from sleep, trudged towards the stairs and into the kitchen, he was soon faced with a surprise he would have never thought possible.

A birthday party. For _him_.

Everyone was there. The teachers, and all the children who resided there. They all gathered around the long, wooden table that often sat everyone in the orphanage. Right in the center, where they stood behind, was a tray. White in color and simple, the pastry on top of it nearly made his heart stop. It was round, with at least two tiers, one of the tiers tilting dangerously off center from the rest of the cake. White icing was plastered on hastily and melted in some spots, having melted off from the cake being too warm. Sprinkles were everywhere on the cake, some in more places than the others. Candies of all sorts were placed on the top or jammed into the sides of the cake. On the top, written in shaky English Letters, in front of a single lit birthday candle, was the message he had wanted to see for what felt like an eternity.

The first boy who welcomed him here stood directly behind the cake, the small flame casting light shadows on his pale skin, illuminating those curly blond locks and those bright eyes the color of Paraiba Tourmaline that glittered with happiness and affection. That smile of his that he always wore was soft and genuine, more so than Yuu had seen since he arrived. He locked his gaze with Yuu's, and spoke the phrase he had wanted to hear.

" _Happy Birthday, Yuu-chan."_

Birthdays after that were fun, and he had never felt happier in his whole life. But then, when everything seemed to go just right, it all fell apart. The adults suddenly began to drop to the ground in fits, dying where they stood with no rhyme or reason. Buildings caught on fire, cars crashed, planes dropped out of the air like shooting stars. And then the vampires came, and the children who remained unaffected by the disease ravaging the population were brought to an underground city, used as livestock to feed the ruling species there. It was nauseating and horrifying all at the same time. Nothing was the same after that. Everything was all wrong.

Food became hard to come by, birthdays were forgotten, except for the little ones. They deserved a day to be happy. He, Akane, and Mika had worked hard to try and give the younger ones a life to live, even if they themselves were not happy. For four years they kept this up. For four years Yuu's anger for the vampires festered, becoming an intangible fire in his heart. For four years they had suffered. And on their fourth year, they attempted to escape. Mika, ever the smart one, gathered the necessary tools, having cozied up to a filthy vampire, trying doing the right thing. Unfortunately, the vampire outsmarted them all, and mercilessly tore their family apart.

It was so quick, but in a flash, they were all gone; only Yuu was left. Mika, with his last breath, told him to run, and with a heavy heart he did. Leaving him chipped away at what little of his heart was left. When he ran he left a part of himself there. And then he met the Moon Demon Company. And within another span of years he was a soldier, fighting beside comrades towards the same goal: exterminating the vampires. That was the only thing Yuu lived for originally. The loss of his family made him mean, made him unable to let others in. His only goal was to kill the vampires who took them away, something his contracted demon Asuramaru found particularly pleasing. He thought that teamwork was a chore, and that this new potential family was wasted on him. He tried to push them away but, like a herd of bulls that spotted something red in color, they just rushed in without any prior warnings. Shinoa, Mitsuba, Yoichi and Kimizuki, and even Guren, the general with a bad attitude that Yuu had a love-hate relationship with managed to become something to all wormed their way into his personal bubble, and set up camp there until he found himself allowing their presence.

After that, things settled down. Training happened. Drills, fighting the Horsemen of the Apocalypse; it became a routine. And in the midst of that, his birthday was found out, and it was remembered.

He remembered his first birthday celebration with his new team. Shinoa kept him out and about for hours, much to his chagrin. He hated not doing anything, not moving, not training. He had built his life around this hunger for vengeance, and that's all he thought about. But Shinoa, with her passive-aggressive remarks, her carefree nature, and her ability to rile people up without having to do much of anything, showed him that he might as well enjoy life while he still had it. With the work they did, there was no way they would live long enough to grow old and have a family. Well, maybe a faux-family, considering the earth needed to be repopulated, but that was beside the point. Shinoa made sure that they were occupied for a while, and when she decided that it was high time they returned to base, he was met with a surprise. Memories rushed through his mind of his first birthday celebration, of everyone gathered around the table, a cake in the middle. It was that time all over again.

They all stood there, with grins on their faces (or in Kimizuki's case a lesser version of his permanent scowl). In front of them was a messy birthday cake, like he remembered before, with just vanilla frosting, plain and simple. In the center was a firecracker that was probably going to make the cake explode at any moment (which it did right afterwards in a glorious display of confectionary carnage). His heart constricted and he was barraged by the feelings of nostalgia, sadness, and happiness all at once. It was like that day all over again, and it made him remember his family. But this wasn't his family and these were not the people he lived with for so long and survived the underground with before their untimely and unwarranted deaths. And yet, despite knowing his intentions and knowing how he didn't want to get involved, they still did something for him.

"You didn't think we'd forget did you?" Shinoa mused, a playful lilt in her tone, though softer than usual. His swiveled his gaze to the petite girl with lavender tresses beside him. She didn't look at him, her attention set on the decorations and the cake before them. A small smile played on the edges of her lips and she looked at him, warmth in her gaze.

" _Happy Birthday Yuu."_

Though they couldn't celebrate it like that every year, they still made sure to say those three little words to him, reminding him every year that he was still alive and they weren't. It was painful knowing this, knowing that the younger ones will never get a birthday, that Akane will never be able to bake that cake she always wanted to make, that he'll never hear those three words from the person that meant the most to him. But they cared. His team cared enough to tell him, and he supposed that was enough for now. He would carry these bittersweet memories and feelings with him every year, to remember what he had lost and what he had gained.

And every year, every October 16th, unbeknownst to the raven haired boy, another person celebrated his birthday quietly, discreetly. On the eve of that day, as the clock struck midnight, a pale, male figure would stand under the moon, a single flickering candle in his hands. The moon illuminated his wheat blond curls, and cast shadows on his fair skin and eyes like glittering jewels. Gloved hands held the candle before his body, the flame flickering languidly in the breeze that blew.

He remembered this day like clockwork, remembered the celebrations, remembered the light in Yuuichiro's eyes when they told him those words that seemed to mean so much to him. The world was unkind to all of them, and knowing he made a difference made his heart swell. Yuu was family, and he wanted his family happy. Although he didn't know if he made it out that day, if he managed to see the sun again, if he somehow managed to survive, he was still there. Not quite human any longer, he survived somehow, and though he didn't know if his best friend, his brother, his family, was still alive, he still celebrated. It didn't feel right if he didn't. For him, it was as normal as breathing, and he would never forget the day so long as he walked on this godforsaken wasteland.

His internal clock knew what time it was, and at the stroke of midnight, he lifted the candle, bringing it in front of his lips and extinguishing the flame. Whispered words fell from his lips, nearly swallowed up by the night as smoke tendrils followed the direction of the wind, carrying his message with it.

" _Happy Birthday, Yuu-chan."_

* * *

 _Indeed Happy Birthday Yuu-chan! To be quite honest I started this at the beginning of October to make sure it was perfect. I even had several fellow users beta for me to get his to where I really liked it, and I really do. So thanks for that Mipiko and my dear friend Jasketry. They're wonderful people and I love them to pieces. And I hope you liked it too. I know it's kinda short but what can I say? Long fanfictions end up gross just saying. Anywho, thank you for reading!_


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